The not-for-profit agency charged with preserving the city’s history is asking the government to help pay for moving out of City Hall.
The City Council last week indicated in an informal poll it would be willing to give the St. Charles Historical Society $50,000 a year over the next five years for the relocation effort.
“Ultimately, the city is a winner by doing this because it will get all this extra space,” said Barbara Martin, the society’s executive director. “It would certainly be cheaper than buying us out.”
The society’s museum, library and offices are housed in a 1,600-square-foot single room on the north end of City Hall’s ground floor, which has served as a local museum since the building opened in 1940.
But a study for the society this year found it could use about 12,000 square feet.
“We’ve outgrown this site,” Martin said. “We just aren’t serving the public the way we could with more space.”
The society is hoping to purchase the shuttered St. Charles Savings and Loan building at 2nd and Walnut Streets in the southwest section of downtown, she said.
Other sites are on the society’s shopping list if the savings and loan is not available, but Martin declined to name them.
St. Charles Mayor Fred Norris said the city could use the extra floor space at City Hall, adding he was encouraged by the unanimous, though informal vote favoring the request.